Related Links

News

2019 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration

Aiken Technical College and the University of South Carolina Aiken will present the 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration on Sunday, January 27 at 3 p.m. at the USC Aiken Convocation Center, 2049 Champion Way, Graniteville. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

This year’s keynote speaker will be Patricia Russell-McCloud, Esq., a bestselling author and acclaimed orator, who will speak on the event’s theme “The time is always right to do what is right,” a quote by Dr. King.

Annually, she speaks to more than 100,000 people in the United States and internationally and encourages listeners to overcome every obstacle that stands between them and the possible. She has spoken to numerous organizations including AARP, American Honda, AT&T, Cox Enterprises, General Electric, General Motors, McDonald’s, McGraw Hill Publishing, Northrup Grumman, Proctor & Gamble, United States Postal Service, Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club, and Xerox.

Russell-McCloud has also served as the 11th National President of The Links, Inc. and as the National Parliamentarian of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

She has been named one of the top five business motivators in the country by Black Enterprise magazine; listed among the top 10 speakers in America in a feature by Essence magazine; named one of the most influential people in the U.S. by Ebony magazine; and was a 2017 inductee into the HBCU Hall of Fame-Lifetime Achievement.

Books she has written include My Journal: Myself, Inside Out and A is for Attitude. She will host a book signing in the lobby of the USC Aiken Convocation Center immediately following the program.

The event will feature musical performances by the Aiken Community Choir and the recognition of recipients of the 2019 Human & Civil Rights Champion Awards. Winners of the event's annual poster and essay contest will also be recognized.

In keeping with Dr. King’s legacy, the event also includes a service fair featuring nonprofit organizations throughout the area. Attendees are encouraged to learn more about the nonprofits’ missions, services and volunteer opportunities. Participating organizations include:

Rebecca Snider’s dream career is to work with computers for a federal agency, such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

As a high school senior, she’s getting an early start on the path toward her goals thanks to a partnership between Aiken Technical College (ATC) and the Aiken County Career & Technology Center (ACCTC).

Aiken Technical College and the University of South Carolina Aiken will present the 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration on Sunday, January 27 at 3 p.m. at the USC Aiken Convocation Center, 2049 Champion Way, Graniteville. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.